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skibob

Skiing the powder
Skier
Joined
Jan 5, 2016
Posts
4,268
Location
Santa Rosa Fire Belt
Gloves
https://kinco.com/ski/

Storm Creek midlayers and outerlayers
https://goo.gl/HGFSNf

I have the equivalent of the sypder zip up sweater and love it. I got it for $30, they want $90.
I was going to mention Kinco too. An instructor turned me on to them years ago. I was skeptical, but they were cheap. Holy cow! The only downside is I needed to buy some lighter gloves too. Not just for spring skiing, but for 35 degree days because the Kinco are SO warm.
 

quant

Don't worry; just go down.
Skier
Joined
Nov 12, 2015
Posts
398
Location
East Bay, N*, Heavenly, Kirkwood, & PCMR
Gloves: KINCO can't be beaten for the price. The pigskin is stiff and it takes a while to soften, but you can't beat the price. Also, Free the Powder has factory seconds for $39.95. That is a lot of glove for the money.

Goggles: Much of the optical industry is largely owned by one vertically integrated company, the Luxottica Group, S.p.A. (Lenscrafters, Oakley, Pearle Vision, Sears Optical, Target Optical, Sunglass Hut, Ray-Ban and a whole lot more). One unknown brand Luxottica owns is Arnette, and you can find Arnette goggles on eBay and through SnowDealsNow for as low as $19.99 with replacement lenses for $6 or so. These are the equivalent (IMHO) of $75 - $100 goggles that fit my family's Carrera, Bolle and Briko helmets without gaps. Not the best lenses, but very good lenses at a great price for models a few years old. I skied with a pair this spring and believe Arnette is a great value.
 

Varmintmist

Bear, with furnture.
Skier
Joined
Apr 25, 2017
Posts
1,702
Location
W PA
As a parsimonious (means cheap bastage) person who is a returning skier that now had a family, wife and 2 out of 3 spawn, to outfit. Now going in I knew some would use the equipment and advance, others would be at best once or twice a year.

Goggles, opticsplanet.com I got Bolle for under 15 bucks. I upgraded mine later to Spy from L9 that were on sale

Boots, for the wife and I it was a trip to the bootfitter paying retail all the way. The daughter spawn is hard charging in theory. Got a set of hardly used hand me downs from a buddys wife. Son, go a set of hand me downs, but he took to it. He is also a clyde so we are headed to the bootfitter this summer.

Clothing. Mountain Warehouse. There is a outlet near here and I had a job to work there. I walked out with a set of water proof ski pants. Wife and kids went up and got geared up. I stopped in before I went to Okemo looking for a lighter fleece 1/3 zip pullover. I found a fleece jacket for 7 bucks.

Gloves. I dont get to go cheap here. I have paws and XL isnt always XL. I went to LL Bean and got Kombi's. Mt warehouse and even Colombia sportswear outlets are good on price.

Skis. Level 9 sports and Colorado discount skis for new old stock. Liquidation sports for used get you by stuff.
After getting boots the wife and I rented skis at the same shop for a year to see if we could still do this.
After a year on the rentals I got a set of Elan Amphibio 88's for 400 delivered, L9 sports. The were recommended over on Epic as a east coast clyde ski, and going from rentals to these it wasnt yeah, it was HELL YEAH. They made me look good.
The wife is no longer a hard charger and light intermediate at best so she got some Elan Waveflex from L9
I got the kids some decent used stuff from Liquidation sports. The daughter is doing fine on hers, but she doesnt go much. The son was there every time and is a solid light intermediate now. I was and he is at the point where he was doing what I do with generic rental type skis. Over driving in every turn so he cant find the top end to improve. He is also a Clyde at 6'2" 245. So I looked and found a set of Elan Amphibo 2013-4 82xti @182cm from Colorado Discount Skis
 
Thread Starter
TS
Tricia

Tricia

The Velvet Hammer
Admin
SkiTalk Tester
Joined
Nov 1, 2015
Posts
27,298
Location
Reno
Where did all these big guys come from??
Welcome and I hope we can help you find what you're looking for.
 

Varmintmist

Bear, with furnture.
Skier
Joined
Apr 25, 2017
Posts
1,702
Location
W PA
From Epic. When I started back as a return skier, I learned that I was now a Clydesdale. Cant imagine how that got that.
Pic of me carving
meskiing_zpsmzdljyoh.jpg

Apparently that is where the herd went but since it is gone, the grass is always greener and all that.

It really is harder to find gear for those of us who take gravity seriously. The skis that little folk can use we overdrive and wash out in turns, and 90% of boots we will crush even as a intermediate. Look at the charts and over 220 you arent listed so you have to go somewhere where there are folks with similar experiences. I am dropping some lbs for health reasons, but if I hit 230, I will be a pretty hard old guy. BMI charts are a joke.

As a bonus, we are like big teddy bears. With furniture.
 
Last edited:
Thread Starter
TS
Tricia

Tricia

The Velvet Hammer
Admin
SkiTalk Tester
Joined
Nov 1, 2015
Posts
27,298
Location
Reno
From Epic. When I started back as a return skier, I learned that I was now a Clydesdale. Cant imagine how that got that.
Pic of me carving
meskiing_zpsmzdljyoh.jpg

Apparently that is where the herd went but since it is gone, the grass is always greener and all that.

It really is harder to find gear for those of us who take gravity seriously. The skis that little folk can use we overdrive and wash out in turns, and 90% of boots we will crush even as a intermediate. Look at the charts and over 220 you arent listed so you have to go somewhere where there are folks with similar experiences. I am dropping some lbs for health reasons, but if I hit 230, I will be a pretty hard old guy. BMI charts are a joke.

As a bonus, we are like big teddy bears. With furniture.
We have two big guys on our test team, @Drahtguy Kevin and @DoryBreaux. In fact when Kevin met Dory last year he said (something like) Damn, that F'er is bigger 'en me!
Both of these guys are really great skiers and amazing assets to our team.
Hope you find some good information here.
 
Thread Starter
TS
Tricia

Tricia

The Velvet Hammer
Admin
SkiTalk Tester
Joined
Nov 1, 2015
Posts
27,298
Location
Reno
Gloves: KINCO can't be beaten for the price. The pigskin is stiff and it takes a while to soften, but you can't beat the price. Also, Free the Powder has factory seconds for $39.95. That is a lot of glove for the money.
Ironically I just saw this at @bud heishman 's shop last week
IMG_4823.JPG
 

NonNativeRado

Astonishingly Mediocre
Skier
Joined
Apr 24, 2017
Posts
52
Location
Denver, CO
I think the biggest obstacles to keeping startup costs low are time, commitment, location, and good advice.

Everything I own skiing related was bought off of Craigslist, eBay, GearTrade, REI garage sales, Sports Authority's bankruptcy liquidation, ski expo, and end of season clearance at various places. It's a strategy that took months (and now years).

Before I started up, a friend of mine told me that it's most critical that my hands and feet are warm and dry and rest of my body can be kept warm with layers as long as none of it was cotton which ended up being absurdly good advice. I got in line early for Sports Authority's Labor Day weekend Sniagrab, got a $75 voucher, and got my helmet. Got both my gloves and Goggles off eBay. Then bought my pants off CraigsList. I had a season rental for my first year with boots, skis, and poles for under $200 (Eskimo Ski Shop in Denver/Centennial if anyone is wondering). I got some insoles from Wal-Mart to make the boot fit better. As my first season went along, I had a better idea of what I actually wanted.

It was helpful that I was already outdoorsy anyway and understood layering and already had a Gore-Tex shell, wool base layers, etc., but I had approached my camping/hiking gear purchases the same way. At this point, I have an absurdly expensive collection of gear that I doubt I paid even 40% of retail for.
 

pais alto

me encanta el país alto
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SkiTalk Supporter
Joined
Nov 11, 2015
Posts
1,940
Location
@Tricia, are you asking for suggestions that a retail store could conceivably carry? Many of these suggestions are on-line or outlet types of purchases, but if you have a customer coming in to a store, that's a different category.
You are correct.
While "go do Sierra Trading Post" or "I got a deal on Spyder at Costco" are good outlets, I really wanted to develop a good glossary of good products at a reasonable price that the average new or returning skier could find at the local ski shop or as a last minute purchase at the resort.

Not knocking those who suggested STP or Costco deals, but those can be random sources to get some deals.
Recently @Philpug and I went shopping at our local STP only to find that they were sparse on anything we may be interested in. We actually asked one of the staff members if they were going out of business. The answer was, "No, we're just between seasons and shipments"

...reminder

Also, for @cantunamunch above: :thumb:
 

KingGrump

Most Interesting Man In The World
Team Gathermeister
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Joined
Nov 12, 2015
Posts
12,210
Location
NYC
STP been gutted since TJ Maxx bought them. :nono:
 
Thread Starter
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Tricia

Tricia

The Velvet Hammer
Admin
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Joined
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Posts
27,298
Location
Reno
@pais alto has this right.

We know a ton of options to go shopping for bargain gear, but what if you're at the mountain and need a pair of goggles, a jacket, pair of water proof pants?

If someone walks into a shop I'm working at and says, "I don't have ski pants and I need something affordable" I'm likely to show them the Spyder Dare instead of the Kjus.
under 200.00 and still water proof. Doesn't have the same stretch or fit that the Kjus Formula has, but its also not 700.00.
 

Varmintmist

Bear, with furnture.
Skier
Joined
Apr 25, 2017
Posts
1,702
Location
W PA
As a parsimonious (means cheap bastage) person who is a returning skier that now had a family, wife and 2 out of 3 spawn, to outfit. Now going in I knew some would use the equipment and advance, others would be at best once or twice a year.

Goggles, opticsplanet.com I got Bolle for under 15 bucks. I upgraded mine later to Spy from L9 that were on sale https://www.levelninesports.com/?utm_source=bing&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=Finch levelninesports.com US&utm_term=level 9 sports&utm_content=[level 9 sports]

Boots, for the wife and I it was a trip to the bootfitter paying retail all the way. The daughter spawn is hard charging in theory. Got a set of hardly used hand me downs from a buddys wife. Son, go a set of hand me downs, but he took to it. He is also a clyde so we are headed to the bootfitter this summer. http://www.peakskiandboard.com/

Clothing. Mountain Warehouse. https://www.mountainwarehouse.com/us/ There is a outlet near here and I had a job to work there. I walked out with a set of water proof ski pants. Wife and kids went up and got geared up. I stopped in before I went to Okemo looking for a lighter fleece 1/3 zip pullover. I found a fleece jacket for 7 bucks.

Gloves. I dont get to go cheap here. I have paws and XL isnt always XL. I went to LL Bean https://www.llbean.com/ and got Kombi's. Mt warehouse and even Colombia sportswear outlets are good on price.

Skis. Level 9 sports and Colorado discount skis http://coloradodiscountskis.com/ for new old stock. Liquidation sportshttp://www.liquidationsports.com/ for used get you by stuff.
After getting boots the wife and I rented skis at the same shop for a year to see if we could still do this.
After a year on the rentals I got a set of Elan Amphibio 88's for 400 delivered, L9 sports. The were recommended over on Epic as a east coast clyde ski, and going from rentals to these it wasnt yeah, it was HELL YEAH. They made me look good.
The wife is no longer a hard charger and light intermediate at best so she got some Elan Waveflex from L9
I got the kids some decent used stuff from Liquidation sports. The daughter is doing fine on hers, but she doesnt go much. The son was there every time and is a solid light intermediate now. I was and he is at the point where he was doing what I do with generic rental type skis. Over driving in every turn so he cant find the top end to improve. He is also a Clyde at 6'2" 245. So I looked and found a set of Elan Amphibo 2013-4 82xti @182cm from Colorado Discount Skis

Added links because you said you were building a database. In my experience, buy today need tomorrow, you will never get a good bang for your buck. If you are on the mountain, or kayak retailer, or gun shop, you get what they have. Will it work? Absolutely. I got a set of goggles at Baker in the early 80's that were good till they dry rotted. I also paid 1/4th of what I did for my boots for them.
 

albertanskigirl

aka Sabrina
Skier
Joined
Mar 28, 2017
Posts
319
Location
Calgary, AB
There are already a lot of good ideas on here. But I just wanted to have something a little bit different – we have two adults and two growing kids to outfit for skiing, so we are very very aware of the costs involved. For somebody just getting involved in skiing, the cost can be really overwhelming.

Yes, quality can vary wildly. If you take some of the brand and item suggestions from the list above, you may also want to take into account the time of year that you purchase your goods. We try to buy in spring, towards the end of season when places are getting rid of their stock, but there are also some amazing deals to be had in August – these are the last of the last. If someone has just completed their first season on rental gear, and they are committed to skiing, they might consider purchasing their gear between May and August. We have purchased most of our ski boots in that time period, and I've gotten pretty good deals. Both of my last two ski boots were purchased at reputable ski stores here in Calgary, with boot fitting included, for 50 to 75% off. Basically, they were stock from last season that they were trying to get rid of. If you have kids who are just getting into the sport, this is also a great time for that.
 
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Tricia

Tricia

The Velvet Hammer
Admin
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Joined
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Posts
27,298
Location
Reno
STP been gutted since TJ Maxx bought them. :nono:
Off topic.
We just visited the STP near the place we're staying in SLC Wow, this place is hopping. Full of amazing merchandise, and tons of shoppers.
 

KingGrump

Most Interesting Man In The World
Team Gathermeister
SkiTalk Supporter
Joined
Nov 12, 2015
Posts
12,210
Location
NYC
It probably varies by location. The STP store I visited in Cheyenne couple years back was pretty desolated. I think they are looking to expand the brick and mortar side of STP with the b&m retail expertise from their TJ Maxx parent.

The selections on STP online site have been abysmal lately. From my recollection, the online inventory moves pretty slow prior to the purchase by TJ Maxx. Lw inventory and selection is probably more beneficial to the vendor. The consumer will have to keep a keener eye on things to catch the bargains.

I would not be surprise if they are also moving STP's inventory through the regular TJ Maxx store to speed things up.
 

PisteOff

Jeff
Skier
SkiTalk Supporter
Joined
Apr 27, 2017
Posts
1,331
Location
Las Vegas
I always talk people out of going cheap on the goggle. You simply have to be able to see...... I like Smith and POC myself. Another thing I am reluctant to go cheap on is a helmet. This is your head were talking about after all...... I went the cheap route. I bought Smith scope goggles and a Smith Holt helmet. Spent about 90 bucks for both of them with free shipping. While they worked, and are still in the gear closet for guests, I upgraded quickly to the Smith Vantage and the IOX goggles. Racing I use POC and I love the Big Iris goggle with the Zeiss lens. The first cheap pair of gloves for skiing were Marmot. I upgraded to Spyder's. Racing I use LEKI. I started with a Columbia set up, jacket and pant and then upgraded to Rossignol jacket and pant. The pant's got cut up quick and the zipper went out in the jacket. I now have a closet full of Spyder gear. My teenage son can now fit a large (barely, he's tall but still lacking the mass) so I've been buying stuff that both of us can wear. If you watch the clearances at RueLaLa and Nordstroms you would be surprised how much you can save. For example my wife just picked up a Monterossa jacket for $299. That's a $900 jacket. Yes, it's a previous year but who cares. I've seen the Pinnacle for as cheap as 300 but missed out on it a couple times. I also like Skis.com and Evo. I've bought quite a bit of gear from them. Amazon is rarely worth a shit anymore these days and Ebay is good if your'e patient and you know what you're looking at. Another site I've been using the past year and have made a couple purchases on is SidelineSwap.com. Anyway, you can find new, top of the line gear, if you are patient and shop the clearance racks at several locations. If you're one of those people who wants current year stuff than you likely aren't concerned about the cost and therefore you are on the wrong thread........:) Happy hunting......
 

Andy Mink

Everyone loves spring skiing but not in January
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@pais alto has this right.

We know a ton of options to go shopping for bargain gear, but what if you're at the mountain and need a pair of goggles, a jacket, pair of water proof pants?

If someone walks into a shop I'm working at and says, "I don't have ski pants and I need something affordable" I'm likely to show them the Spyder Dare instead of the Kjus.
under 200.00 and still water proof. Doesn't have the same stretch or fit that the Kjus Formula has, but its also not 700.00.
The Spyder pants you sold me on day one this year have been great. Can't really see paying any more.
 

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